US President Donald Trump’s promotion of April 2 to “Liberation Day” has fuelled the anxiety-driving mystery surrounding the awaited announcement of tariffs. The Republican leader is expected to unveil his tariff plan on Wednesday in his first Rose Garden press conference of his second term, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt shared with reporters on Monday.
“Wednesday, it will be Liberation Day in America, as President Trump has so proudly dubbed it,” Leavitt said. “The President will be announcing a tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off our country for decades. He’s doing this in the best interest of the American worker.”
While she did not reveal what exactly Trump would be announcing, she confirmed that there won’t be any exemptions on reciprocal tariffs. “The goal of Wednesday is a country-based tariff, but certainly sectoral tariffs. The President has said he’s committed to implementing them, and I would leave it to him when he makes that announcement,” she added.
Karoline Leavitt lists massive tariffs from several countries, including India
Emphasising that “unfair trade practices” need to stop, the White House secretary also name-dropped several countries, including India ahead of Trump’s Liberation Day.
“If you look at the unfair trade practices that we have– 50 per cent from the European Union on American dairy. You have a 700 per cent tariff from Japan on American rice. You have a 100 per cent tariff from India on American agricultural products. You have nearly a 300 per cent tariff from Canada on American butter and American cheese,” Leavitt went on. “This makes it virtually impossible for American products to be imported into these markets, and it puts a lot of Americans out of business and out of work over the past several decades.”
Proclaiming that Trump’s reciprocal tariffs will reel in “historic change,” the White House official claimed, “Unfortunately, these countries have been ripping off our country for far too long…And they’ve made their disdain, I think, for the American worker quite clear.”
Final decision for Trump tariffs on Liberation Day rests with the president
With Karoline Leavitt weighing on the need for “reciprocity,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer similarly said in a statement, “No American President in modern history has recognized the wide-ranging and harmful foreign trade barriers American exporters face more than President Trump.”
“Under his leadership, this administration is working diligently to address these unfair and non-reciprocal practices, helping restore fairness and put hardworking American businesses and workers first in the global market.”
While it remains to be seen what tariffs Trump will impose, Leavitt praised his “brilliant team of trade advisers,” which includes Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, trade adviser Peter Navarro, senior aide Stephen Miller and Vice President JD Vance.
She affirmed that even though all of them have “presented plans to the president on how to get this done,” it will ultimately be the POTUS’ “decision to make.”